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 WaGuns Book Reviews 
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Recently finished Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson. Techno-thriller with environmental disaster edge. It's been one of his niches since the 1980s, though IMO his cyberpunk and historical fiction is better.

Interesting story and the various threads were tied together well, but he's missing that "page turner gotta find out what happens next" quality. There is very little build as we don't really know who the bad guy/antagonist is until nearly the end of the book. Stephenson has created some awesome antagonists in the past, so this was a let down.

Must read for Stephenson fans, but pretty slow paced with lots of exposition compared to most contemporary fiction. Unfortunately these late 20th/early 21st century literary legends aren't getting any younger, and they're starting to write like old guys (he's 62 now).

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Thu Aug 11, 2022 9:49 pm
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Reading "Liberty Rising; One Cowboy's Ascent. The Murder of La Voy Finicum as told by His Daughter."

A little time has passed. Figured it might be a good time to rethink the event and hear the account from a source other than the MSM.

Besides, the sequel to "Sixteen Hooves Thunder" isn't out yet... :AR15firing:

EDIT: btw, a revised edition of "Fractured State" is available. Downloading the revised edition, the original is replaced. Would require rereading the whole book to find the revision. Worth the time? Or are such revisions just housekeeping and cleaning up grammarical errors?

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“Finding ‘common ground’ with the thinking of evil men is a fool’s errand” ~ Herschel Smith

"The said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." ~ Samuel Adams

“A return to First Principles in a Republic is sometimes caused by simple virtues of a single man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. Before all else, be armed!” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli

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Sat Oct 01, 2022 11:06 am
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I'm almost done with another book I've been reading Turn Red Tomorrow. Since Matt Bracken doesn't have any new books out, this is a worthy alternative. Set in the PNW which we're very familiar with, the story is set pre-COVID to where there is a calamity to where the American government is not able to perform its normal duties and has to reorganize itself, with detrimental results. I say pre COVID because it was written just before 2020 but there are some of the totalitarian tones of the COVID years present. What I like about the book? It's not syrupy sweet like a James Wesley Rawles book, not everything is peachy. There are nice details in the background concerning the preparations of some of the characters which is informative. In addition, there are some good quips from people describing the new state of the nation. I'm being vague of course, read it from yourself, I believe it's only available on Amazon for now.


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Sun Oct 02, 2022 2:59 am
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jackass wrote:
I'm almost done with another book I've been reading Turn Red Tomorrow. Since Matt Bracken doesn't have any new books out, this is a worthy alternative. Set in the PNW which we're very familiar with, the story is set pre-COVID to where there is a calamity to where the American government is not able to perform its normal duties and has to reorganize itself, with detrimental results. I say pre COVID because it was written just before 2020 but there are some of the totalitarian tones of the COVID years present. What I like about the book? It's not syrupy sweet like a James Wesley Rawles book, not everything is peachy. There are nice details in the background concerning the preparations of some of the characters which is informative. In addition, there are some good quips from people describing the new state of the nation. I'm being vague of course, read it from yourself, I believe it's only available on Amazon for now.



Were you aware that:

a) the book I referenced above - "Sixteen Hooves Thunder" is the sequel? And that there is a third book in the works?

and:

b) the author is a WaGunner?

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“Finding ‘common ground’ with the thinking of evil men is a fool’s errand” ~ Herschel Smith

"The said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." ~ Samuel Adams

“A return to First Principles in a Republic is sometimes caused by simple virtues of a single man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. Before all else, be armed!” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli

Láodòng zhèng zhūwèi zìyóu

FJB


Sun Oct 02, 2022 2:17 pm
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Image

Books are only on Amazon. They're the only POD (print on demand) that doesn't require a wad of cash on my part.

Book #3 to close out the trilogy should be available Spring '23. I'm almost done with the rough. It'll be about the same length as Turn Red Tomorrow.

I like Rawles' books, but like most modern survivalist fiction, he shows how the scrappy preppers can come out on top. I'm more pragmatic --- characters can win locally but beating the Great Reset is much bigger than any one hero or even group of like-minded people. And then there is that pivot in Sixteen Hooves Thunder that I won't give away (though the back cover of the book does).

Once all three are out, I'll be seeking a traditional publisher (they all hate uncompleted works). Stay tuned.

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Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:56 pm
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You're real name is "The Dude".

Can't wait for books #2 and #3.

Is Michael Zargona whoever he is (I suspect he's JukkOu) going to incorporate a pandemic in the story line?


Sun Oct 02, 2022 4:00 pm
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jackass wrote:
You're real name is "The Dude".

Can't wait for books #2 and #3.

Is Michael Zargona whoever he is (I suspect he's JukkOu) going to incorporate a pandemic in the story line?


Michael Zargona isn't my real name...and, shocker, neither is The Dude.

#2 book (Sixteen Hooves Thunder) was released October 2020.

There's an airborne hemorrhagic fever pandemic salted throughout Turn Red Tomorrow but no characters catch it directly (close calls that they escape). I leave that sort of fiction to Stephen King and Michael Crichton.

But let's get back to reviews :bigsmile:

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Sun Oct 02, 2022 5:01 pm
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And good books they are. Waiting for number3

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Mon Oct 03, 2022 5:54 pm
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"One Nation Under Blackmail" by Whitney Webb.

Ostensibly about Jeffrey Epstein, Webb begins her research into the collusion of criminal enterprises and Intelligence Agencies dating back to the World Wars and the time of the inception of those agencies.

Epstein was but another player in that ongoing criminal enterprise.

Yeah... wow.

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“Finding ‘common ground’ with the thinking of evil men is a fool’s errand” ~ Herschel Smith

"The said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." ~ Samuel Adams

“A return to First Principles in a Republic is sometimes caused by simple virtues of a single man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. Before all else, be armed!” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli

Láodòng zhèng zhūwèi zìyóu

FJB


Sat Dec 24, 2022 4:05 pm
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jukk0u wrote:
"One Nation Under Blackmail" by Whitney Webb.

Ostensibly about Jeffrey Epstein, Webb begins her research into the collusion of criminal enterprises and Intelligence Agencies dating back to the World Wars and the time of the inception of those agencies.

Epstein was but another player in that ongoing criminal enterprise.

Yeah... wow.


Part 1 or 2?

Not available on Kindle almost like on purpose

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Sat Dec 24, 2022 8:48 pm
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Part One. Amazon Kindle.
I just now picked up part Two on Amazon Kindle.


Edit: yeah, the Kennedys were fucked by these guys.

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“Finding ‘common ground’ with the thinking of evil men is a fool’s errand” ~ Herschel Smith

"The said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." ~ Samuel Adams

“A return to First Principles in a Republic is sometimes caused by simple virtues of a single man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example. Before all else, be armed!” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli

Láodòng zhèng zhūwèi zìyóu

FJB


Sat Dec 24, 2022 9:27 pm
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Listened to Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek during my long commutes.

Figured I'd get a civilian's take on a military leadership concept. While there are some good anecdotal military stories, for me it was a waste of time and $17. Sinek offers that nearly everything we do is influenced by brain chemicals (disagree) and gave examples of some good, empathetic leaders but also some crappy, selfish ones. It's really basic stuff, honestly, and we already know that selfish leaders suck, right? Sinek bounces all over the place and does a poor job tying it all together. He references better books like Built To Last which is a much better read/listen along with its newer brother, Good To Great, if you're interested in the subject.

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Sat Dec 24, 2022 11:27 pm
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jukk0u wrote:
Part One. Amazon Kindle.
I just now picked up part Two on Amazon Kindle.


Edit: yeah, the Kennedys were fucked by these guys.


Thanks. So I look at my iPhone and it says: "(Kindle (version))Unavailable via Amazon app" so I go to my Kindle and it cannot even find the book. That was last night. WTAF???

This AM on my desktop PC. There it is, Ordered and on my kindle now. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

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Sun Dec 25, 2022 4:30 am
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A few people have used the 299 Days books as a comp to Turn Red Tomorrow, but I've avoided reading any of them while working on my series since there seemed to be a lot of parallels between "Michael Zargona" and "Glen Tate" (both are pen names). Tate is, like me, a WA country boy who came to the Greater Puget Sound for work and opportunities but became pretty disillusioned by our very different neighbors. With my books almost done, I think it's 'safe' now to check it out and, sure, compare. Probably some minor spoilers in this review, fair warning.

299 Days: The Preparation walks us through the fictional life of Grant Matson and his journey from country boy to white collar schlub to active prepper. I found him to be a good, believable character and I was glad that Tate chose an 'everyman' versus, say, a SEAL sniper or CIA assassin edge case type. But, keeping with the title of the book, that's all you get in Book 1: Matson's preparation for a looming collapse of the American economy and rule of law. It ends abruptly, though the other books in the series are listed at the front of the book. You're not getting a complete story, but I'd be a hypocrite if I complained about that.

We tread some of the same ground in our books. We both had lengthy diatribes on the Federal Reserve. We both had our main characters plan to ride things out in a family cabin near the Puget Sound. We both dealt with how the military and police would deal with those early stages of collapse in realistic ways. Coincidentally, both Grant Matson and Kyle Flanigan (one of the main characters in my book) have a younger son named Cole.

The book, published in 2012, does date itself in a couple of ways. Tate is a big fan of the Oath Keepers which, regardless of how you feel about J6, is no longer the shining light it once was and is almost certainly sprinkled with members there under false pretenses. And while a lot of Tate's social aspects came/are coming true, he whiffed on the libertarian nature of Washington voters re: gun ownership which, sadly, no longer exists.

I did find 299 Days: The Preparation to be a good comp to the first half of Turn Red Tomorrow, but in very different ways. We write in entirely different styles; mine is 'televisual' and strictly a limited 3rd person perspective (only get the 5 senses and thoughts of one character at a time) whereas Tate uses a biographical narrative style, where we get the thoughts and perspectives of many characters at the same time and, for the most part, events are taken in broadly versus the 'moment by moment' style I use. It's worth mentioning my first draft had a lot more exposition/description and my editor strongly encouraged me to keep the action moving more.

The later books might get more intense, but I found this first one to be a very slow wading into the lake vs. the cannonball dive approach I used (along with most other contemporary authors in the genre e.g. Rawles, Forstchen, Bracken). Tate spends a lot of time with workplace drama and political infighting that, frankly, isn't very engaging. A better comp for 299 Days: The Preparation might be Boston T. Party's Molôn Labé! which, like 299 Days: The Preparation, focuses on politics, philosophy, and a broad overview of events vs. action, suspense, and a 'show, don't tell' storytelling style. I'll read the next couple in the series before I pass final judgement, but for me things better pick up pretty fast.

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Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:50 am
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I just read "desert sniper" by ed nash. It was a really good read. The first hand account of a brit who had no military experience, joining the kurds in 2015 to fight isis.


Sun Jan 15, 2023 1:38 pm
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